Nicholas Cusack
Franciscan Order.[1]
He belonged to a prominent
military commander, was a cousin. Nicholas clearly regarded himself as an Englishman, and he was always hostile to the Gaelic Irish.[2]
After the death of Bishop Simon of Kilkenny in 1272, divisions in the Chapter led to a seven-year vacancy in the See of Kildare, the Chapter being split over the rival claims of the
As bishop, he is chiefly remembered for his warning to the King in 1284/5 of the disloyalty of Irish
monks, to whom he was deeply hostile.[3] He warned that the monks were meeting with the native Irish rulers in secret and assuring them that it was a lawful and Godly act to attack the English colony.[3]
In 1291, he was involved in controversy, when a number of other bishops presented a list of grievances to the King about his
taxation demands. The following year he and the Bishop of Meath, Thomas St Leger, were chosen to collect the papal tax granted by Pope Nicholas III to the King for the relief of the Holy Land.[2]
In his last years, he clashed several times with
co-heiresses. These disputes do not seem to have been related to the numerous complaints about William's maladministration
as Justiciar, which led to his removal in 1294.
Nicholas died on 5 September 1299 and was buried in Kildare Cathedral.[2]
References
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